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"I spoke to them but it wasn't time for me to leave this football club. It might be a shame for a few people but for me I'm happy to stay here."

Asked about the challenge he took on when he joined QPR as director of football, Ferdinand said: "I'd done what I'd done here as a player and I had to come and prove myself as a director of football.

"As I said, I knew from seeing the state the club was in and the problems that we had here - I knew there was a lot of problems and there was going to be a lot of pain, and I was going to take a lot of flack for that.

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"But I put myself in the position because I wanted to try and help and do things in the right way and get us back on a level footing and moving up the table.

"So when you put yourself in a position you know what's going to come from that position and I'm ready for it. Hopefully we'll see some positive signs, and we are seeing some positive signs going forward."

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